Rate rise delayed

INTEREST rates will stay close to rock bottom for another few months as Britain suffers a temporary slowdown, a new report predicts.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research expects the next rise in borrowing costs in August rather than next week. It follows a sharp slowdown in economic activity with UK growth of just 0.1pc in the first quarter of 2018.

NIESR cut its growth forecasts for the full-year from 1.9pc to 1.4pc. It said the economy would pick up after Brexit, with output rising 1.7pc in 2019 and 1.8pc in 2020.